Tartaros Oneshots
by StrikerDaisy
Summary: A series of snapshots looking into the lives of Tartaros demons. And sometimes, they'll be funny. Maybe.
1. Kyouka Gains Power

"How much is your attack power worth? How much?" Franmalth's voice echoed through the Cube, and Kyouka couldn't stand it. Sure, his constant blabbering alerted her on when he was going to attack, but even so-

"3000 souls!" the one-eyed demon yelled, stretching out his arm and trying to pull the other demon to himself so he could absorb her soul as well. Unfortunately, Kyouka was nimble as well as smart, and she easily evaded the attack. The claws on her handlike appendages extended, and she stabbed one through Franmalth's center, finally getting him to shut up.

The round demon disappeared into a flurry of particles that dispelled into the air, and Kyouka knew she had won. "Marde Guille was impressed with your performance." The King of Hades spoke this time. He had been observing the tactical skills of each of the Nine Demon Gates, and it was obvious that this one had surpassed them all. "It will be your duty to direct the other demon gates in their operations and take on apprentices as needed. Are you ready for that task?" he asked, looking down at the helmeted demon's smug face.

"Of course, King of Hades," she replied calmly. She had known from the start that she was far above all the other demons in skills, and she was confident that she would be the first of them to meet Zeref face to face. How she longed for that day...when she would finally see her maker with her own eyes and present her vast list of accomplishments before him. It was almost like she was stuck in a dream.

"Then Marde will present you with your first trainee." Kyouka's thought process was cut off when a tiny bunny scurried forward and glared at the demon gate who had won the favor of the King of Hades.

"This is a woman..." she grumbled, crossing her arms and glaring at Kyouka with the beadiest eyes she had ever seen. "But I'll work under her...I just won't like it..."

Marde waved both of them off and suggested that they begin training right away. "Marde has given her the name Lamy," he told both of them before shooing them down to Hell's Core.

In truth, Kyouka wasn't very pleased with having to work with this wretched girl on such a close basis. She drove her crazy the minute she saw her, and there was nothing she wanted more than to smack her into oblivion. After a couple days of getting to know each other, however, Kyouka realized that they actually got along very well. Lamy was passionate about her work, as was she, and this passion formed a sort of secret bond that they shared. Kyouka sent demons out on missions, and Lamy patched them up when they came back injured so she wouldn't have to. That just gave her more time to collect humans-her favorite hobby. Lamy always asked for hunky boys, and sometimes, Kyouka actually gave in and found some for the little rabbit to gawk at before she brought each of them to an untimely end. It wasn't until the day she found a mage from Succubus Eye that she wanted to hang onto a human longer.

"Kyouka-nee...you want me to make this one into a demon?" Lamy asked, frowning in disapproval. Kyouka mrerely nodded and patted the girl on the head. This woman was going to make a great demon. She could tell.

"Continue with Operation Face as planned!" Kyouka yelled as she paraded through the Cube. Being in power meant she was never wrong, and that was something she wanted to preserve. Not to mention, she wanted to flaunt her prestige in front of the other Demon Gates. She was selfish, and she knew it.

"The council members come next," Franmalth reported, walking up behind Kyouka. He acted as her right-hand man now. It was funny...they were rivals for her leadership position not that long ago. Now he seemed content to work underneath her.

A dark-haired man walked in next, and Kyouka barked more complaints. "You weren't supposed to be snooping around the Sun Village!" she snapped, but Silver paid her no mind. "And you!" she pointed at Tempesta this time. "You need to start with the former council members before word gets out about our attacks!" Said demon nodded gruffly and pulled up his hood before heading out.

Lamy trotted back in next, dragging her favorite of the Nine Demon Gates behind her. "Kyouka-nee! I brought Jackal-kun so you could tell him about his job!" She grinned proudly from ear to ear, while Jackal looked like he was ready to punch her to the moon.

Kyouka laughed and pried the tiny demon off of him. "You get the honors of destroying the Magic Council...consider it an honor," she told him with a smug smirk. He just scowled and stomped out. She knew he would like the job once he was able to blow the building up, but until then, he would probably be too worried about finding a way to get the Lamy germs off of him. She enjoyed watching the two interact. That was all part of being leader, right? She strode back into her room and lit a few candles before collapsing in her red velvet seat, one fit for a demon queen. That was what she had become, after all, and she loved every second of it.


	2. Got any Threes?

"Do you have any threes?"

"Go fish."

Torafusa picked up a playing card from the center of the table.

"Tempesta, do you have any kings?"

"Who's Tempesta?"

Keith sighed and pointed to the furry demon sitting across from him. "You. And I asked if you had any kings."

Tempesta looked at his cards and shook his head. Keith picked up a card.

"Why are you guys so boring all the time?" Jackal popped his head up between Torafusa and Keith and looked between the two demon gates. "Want to go blow something up?"

"Not particularly…" Torafusa told Jackal plainly, carefully stacking his remaining cards before shoving the novice down to the ground. "We were in the middle of a friendly game of Go Fish."

"Games shmames…those are boring," Jackal said, standing back up and rubbing his shoulder, which would have a bruise later thanks to the Darkness's action.

"Going on explosive rampages are boring as well. You have not been one of the Nine Demon Gates long enough to understand this, I'm afraid…" Keith shook his head and handed Tempesta the four he had been keeping.

Tempesta set down his pair, then turned to Jackal. "Who's that?"

"Oi! It's me, Tempesta!" Jackal yelled. The other three demons plugged their ears.

"Tempesta loses his memories every time he is reborn. Have you forgotten that already?" Keith asked Jackal, who stared back blankly. "Never mind. You can run off and cause destruction if you want. It would be wise to determine a purpose before doing so."

Keith's advice flew right over Jackal's head. The explosive demon stuck out his tongue childishly and dashed off eagerly. "That kid gets on my nerves…" Torafusa mumbled, no longer in the mood to play a card game with the other demons.

"Each demon we have added to our ranks has been progressively harder to get along with," Keith observed. "Ezel is loud. Silver is strong, but far too focused on that Gray character, or rather the ridding of him. Sayla cares only for Kyouka, and now this fellow…"

"I can't stand him," Torafusa declared with a scowl. "He's got drive, but he won't come through when we need him to. He's obsessed with himself, and he doesn't seem to care about Zeref."

"You have seen the other extreme though. Lady Kyouka is past the point of no return on her devotion to Zeref." Keith took the cards from Torafusa and slid them back into the box. Tempesta had stayed in his seat, blankly staring down at the table. He didn't remember any of the demons they were talking about, after all.

"Sometimes, I think everything would be better with just us three," Torafusa mumbled, standing up and pushing his chair back into its spot. Tempesta followed him, although he had no particular reason to.

Keith remained seated, watching them go. "Our cooperation will be more than enough to serve Zeref on its own," he decided to himself. "When the time comes, we will prove ourselves that way."


	3. All I Needed was a Book

_The most powerful form of this curse will allow the controller to rain destruction on whomever he wills. Magical counteraction is possible, but only after—_

"Sayla! Are you seriously still reading? Get out here! We're getting briefed!"

Sayla sighed and closed her book. Rather than setting it back on her enormous bookshelf, she decided to carry it with her. She had just gotten to a good part too…

The meeting that she was called to was rather boring, as Kyouka-sama had previously laid out all of their plans to destroy the former council members to her. She would have gotten much more accomplished if she had been reading. That's all she did, really. Even if she had to complete a task somewhere far away from the Cube, she brought her books with her. The humans couldn't lift a finger to her anyway, so she might as well make the best of her time the only way she knew how to do so.

She read about lots of different topics, but she usually covered different curses. True, Zeref had given her life and power, but most of her magic spells were self-taught. She felt like she got more out of herself that way. She experimented to find a style that fit her perfectly, one that required the least amount of effort and that gave her the most control.

Sayla loved to be in control. She paid no attention to the other demon gates, save for Kyouka-sama. She didn't even care all that much about Zeref, END, or Mard Geer, all who were supposedly her superiors. She didn't particularly care for humans either. That might have been the only reason she didn't defect from the demon gates in the first place. Even so, Kyouka-sama probably would have convinced her to stay. She had a way with words that made Sayla feel at ease. Just like when she was reading.

_Magical counteraction is possible, but only after a strong connection is made between he that is being controlled and some outside figure, be it an event, another person, or anything of the like. Prevention of this contact is crucial, but not difficult. It merely requires—_

"Sayla, dear…you're late for our briefing again…"

Sayla sighed and closed her book one more time. The outside world was boring, no matter who called her out of her ethereal reading experience or what was going on around her. She would always prefer her books.


	4. A Guide by Lamy

_Qualifications for the Most Hunkiest Guy: A Guide by Lamy_

_1.__He has to have a really, really, REALLY cute face. Ugly faces ruin the rest of the bod. I mean, have you seen Franmalth? Seriously, I can't even look at him long enough to modify him._

_2.__It's no fun if he's completely bending to my every whim. Take Kyouka-nee and Sayla. She does every single thing Kyouka-nee tells her to! Where's the fun in that? Where's the romantic pursuit?_

_3.__Bad boys=love. That's what makes Jackal-kun so perfect! He's always angry and looking for a fight! Plus, I get to see his snarky little face all the time! Oooh…he's so hot, I could probably melt!_

_4.__Even though humans aren't that great, the more human-like, the better. Tempesta was this huge, ugly who-knows-what before I got to fix him. He looks soooooooo much better with a human bod._

_5.__Soft hair! I want to be able to brush it, and stroke it, and nuzzle against it! Speaking of nuzzling…_

_6.__Lets me be affectionate! Seriously Jackal-kun…get your act together! I only hug you because you're perfect!_

_7.__Actually, Jackal-kun is already basically the most hunkiest guy…so I guess be Jackal-kun._

"Seven seems good," Lamy decided, grinning from ear to ear and pinning her list to the back of her door. She happily skipped out to go bug Jackal-kun some more. The more time she spent with him, the more he would realize he couldn't live without her. Or so she thought anyway.

One of the demon gates walked by the door and saw the paper on the ground. It must have fallen when Lamy slammed the door shut. He picked it up, scanned the paper, dropped it right back on the ground, and stomped off, muttering "I do not have an ugly face…"


	5. And Now, Mard Geer!

Mard Geer obviously had the most difficult job in all of Tartaros. The Nine Demon Gates would tend to disagree, but frankly, he didn't care what they thought. They were lower life forms than him; after all, he was the King of Hades. And as king, he had many, many more important things to do than destroying towns and torturing humans. Like making sure every lock of his silky black hair was in place, or ironing each crease out of his flame-covered jacket. Important things.

A typical day for a Nine Demon Gate would consist of an early wake-up call from Lamy, if she considered him a "hunk," at least. If not, there were mandatory gatherings every week or so that each member needed to attend. Kyouka would describe all of the fantastic plans and strategies that Mard Geer himself had concocted for them, and they would in turn go and complete all of those tasks in his and Zeref's name. They would be expected to return within the day, since their curse power far outclassed any and every mage in Fiore. This left the rest of the week for them to train, read, pillage, or explore. He was already made aware of some successes made by the demon gates during this time, like Franmalth discovering and absorbing Purehito's soul. But these hardly scratched the surface of what Mard Geer did on a daily basis.

He would wake up even earlier than Lamy, in order to make sure he looked perfect for the rest of the day. That, and if he didn't get the shower first, there wouldn't be any hot water left to wash his glorious hair. He went through countless bottles of mousse and hair gel every week to tame his boisterous black mane, so he took it upon himself to consistently improve the formulas he used. Eventually, he would be able to concoct a perfect mixture that would keep his hair voluminous and shiny all the time.

He was also Tartaros's head fashion designer. The followers of Zeref couldn't be seen looking like slobs, after all. (He knew for a fact that Ezel in particular wouldn't look the least bit presentable if he didn't set out specific attire for him.) He liked to consider himself an expert in this field, knowing exactly what cuts would look flattering on what bodies, and which prints to avoid. He was really proud of his work when he saw the Nine Demon Gates parading through the halls of the Cube, preparing for the Face project. Keith's was probably his favorite. The diamonds on his robe distracted from his unfortunate lack of a real face. Actually, most every outfit he created for the Gates were made to distract from something.

Torafusa's was practical. His fluffy cloak was to hide the fact that he had blades on his arms. Franmalth's helmet and arm pieces were to draw attention away from his soul-sucking arms and all-seeing eye. The bands he designed for Ezel were so that any possible opponent would not take notice of his octopus-like legs. Silver's armor made him laugh. It was silver-colored to match his name. Mard Geer thought that was really clever. He fashioned a helmet for Kyouka to distract from her too-humanly appearance. The same went for Sayla's dress: he made her fashionable printed armbands and long socks to draw the eye away from the all too humanly look on her face. Just the opposite, Tempesta's cloak was to hide his rather hideous appearance from the outside. He couldn't stand looking at him any more than the new rabbit recruit could. Unfortunately for him, she had gotten a hold of Jackal's wardrobe, and he no longer possessed the clothes Mard Geer had designed for him. They bothered him slightly. Demons weren't meant to be gawked at. Except himself, of course.

That development prompted him to make something for the bunny as well. She would be given a cute and unsuspecting appearance, when only the Demon Gates knew that an easily angered, raging with jealousy, and overly obsessed fangirl lived underneath it. He was proud of that work as well. Just not as proud as he was with his own appearance.

Yes, Mard Geer was the crowning glory of Tartaros. He was their public face, and as such, he made sure every Face model scattering the countryside was based off of his stunning visage. Only someone as aesthetically pleasing as himself could pull off his daring hairstyle, or his ruffly and patterned jacket. And he knew it. He actually laughed when the rabbit recruit tried to design clothing for those she modified. She couldn't make anything nearly as breathtaking as he could. He pulled at the collar on his jacket and ran a hand through his long ponytail as he rested his elbow on the armrest of his grand throne. He was the only one in Tartaros to possess such a thing. He was confident that this was because no one else would look anywhere near as good as he did sitting in it. He couldn't help it. Being this perfect was a gift.

"Kyouka-nee…Lard was bothering me again…" Lamy grumbled, reattaching one of Ezel's tentacle-like appendages before letting him go free.

"You were affecting his perfect equilibrium," Kyouka told the girl quietly, patting her on the head and giving her a sympathetic smile. "Don't worry, at least you can tell that he's not as flawless as he thinks he is. Make sure you don't call him Lard to his face." Lamy snickered and nodded, then trotted off to go find Jackal-kun. She personally hoped she'd get to see Mard's downfall with her own eyes. Anyone with an ego as big as his was bound to crumble sooner or later. And most likely, he would be his own worst enemy. Either that, or he'd retire to living a life of shame once she helped Jackal-kun replace him as the hunkiest guy living in the Cube. Hopefully, her super kawaii demon would like the scarf she made for him.


	6. Two Seconds on Tempesta

As far as he was concerned, his story started about three days ago. His first breaths were taken after stepping out of some slimy liquid, and the first voice he heard was of a small rabbit. She babbled something he didn't care about, as did someone else that he didn't recognize. He could tell he didn't really like him, though.

The bunny told him that his name was Tempesta. It was better than nothing, he supposed, although he never really saw a need for a name anyway. He realized he existed before his most recent birth. It was a never-ending cycle for all the demons of Tartaros. Him especially. All he had knowledge of when he awoke was Zeref.

Zeref was his creator, and the one he was serving. Nothing more, nothing less. None of the other demons he came across mattered. Just defeating the enemy that stood between Zeref and his conquest.

"I see you have been reborn…" a walking skeleton spoke, apparently to him. Tempesta nodded, then continued on without another word. That must have been one of his comrades; someone who would aid in bringing about Zeref's wishes. No more information was needed.

He relied on perception and instinct, mostly. If someone seemed like an enemy, he would attack. If he was told to go and track down someone, he would. His existence wasn't based on a large mass of facts or attacks. He just _did_. And that was good enough for him.


	7. A Little Thing We Call Anime

_"Douka, please can you keep my secret?"_

Kyouka groaned and pushed open Lamy's door. Loud, obnoxious sounds were blasting through the halls lately, and she tracked many of them down to her room. "What on Earthland are you doing?" the clawed demon hissed at the little rabbit.

Lamy jumped and paused her video. She whirled around and locked eyes with Kyouka, then gave a silly little wave. "Oh, hi Kyouka-nee! I'm watching an anime! It's about a strong girl who's chased around by a hunky guy!" She swooned and flopped back down in front of her computer screen. "This is how everything should be…Jackal-kun running after me instead of the other way around…" she mumbled.

Kyouka slunk out and shut the door. She really didn't want to see what sorts of things the rabbit was watching, especially if her actions on a daily basis revealed anything about her media habits. "Anime…maybe that's something we should ban in Tartaros…" she mused, continuing down the halls of the Cube. "All it's doing is teaching Lamy how to be scarier than she already is…"

She stopped by another door, hearing voices emitting from there as well. "Not another one…" she mumbled, inviting herself in and sitting down behind Franmalth. On his screen was a young looking girl and a boy about the same age. But…wait! Now the boy was some sort of…scythe? What the heck? "Don't tell me this is an anime too…" she mumbled.

Franmalth nodded eagerly. "Oh yes, yes indeed! It's called Soul Eater and—"

"Figures…" Kyouka sighed, knowing that Franmalth's curse was absorbing souls. She shouldn't have expected anything different.

"Once they collect enough, they'll be able to—"

"I really don't care." With that, she turned on her heel—er, bird foot—and continued on her way. Is this really how all the guild members spent their free time? Watching these mindless shows and expecting their lives to be magically better because of them? She really didn't see the purpose. "Surely Sayla won't be taken in by these pointless things," Kyouka mused. She hurried over to the bookworm of a demon's abode and walked in. She took a deep breath and filled her lungs with the scent of worn books. That was refreshing, especially after visiting the dump Franmalth lived in. "Sayla? Are you here?"

"One minute, Kyouka-sama…this episode is almost over…" Sayla called out from the back of her room. Sure enough, there she was, hunched over a computer screen.

"You're not…by chance…watching anime, are you?" Kyouka asked as calmly as she could before bolting towards the other demon and peering at her screen.

"It's Death Note. I was told there is a very important book in it, and I was intrigued," Sayla explained. "The names of the people in the book—"

"Please find something more productive to do with your time," Kyouka commanded, shutting the laptop closed and pointing to the door. "Get everyone else together…I'm calling a meeting," she told her. Sayla nodded, not wanting to disappoint Kyouka, and hustled out.

Kyouka stomped through the halls of the Cube. Today would be the day she found out where this anime came from and how she could stop it. Unfortunately for her, an unfamiliar tune floated out of Torafusa's room and filled her ears. "Not him too!" He was probably the one she least expected to get pulled into this anime thing. "What sort of stupid show could you possibly—"

She stopped, her eyes glued to the screen. The only things visible were defined, glistening muscles. Of human men, at that. It was a whole troupe of them, walking through the desert or holding jars. It made no sense whatsoever. "What is _this?_"

"Quit making such a big deal about it," Torafusa mumbled, pressing his palm to Kyouka's nose and pushing her out of his living space. "It's a swimming anime. I watch it to get pointers for my water-based attacks. You need to make sure you're taking in everything you learn about anime with a grain of salt," he told her sharply, slamming the door in her face.

"I need a break…" Kyouka mumbled, shuffling back to her room and collapsing on her bed. Maybe she'd have to find an anime of her own to watch.

**BONUS:**

_"Kiss, kiss, fall in love!"_

"This method of dealing with humans is rather amusing," Mard Geer said with a smirk, eyes locked on his computer screen. "Enchant them with my perfect appearance, then threaten them with my superior strength...Kyoya Ootori, you may be the smartest human I've ever laid eyes on…"


	8. Never Skip Leg Day

It was a requirement for the Tartaros guild members to partake in physical activity regularly. Some, like Jackal, usually chose to go outside and run a few miles. (And not so surprisingly, Lamy usually followed.) Kyouka and Sayla would do yoga together some days, and others would be spent keeping their shapely legs toned and strong. For this reason, it wasn't uncommon for many of the demons to skip leg day every once in a while.

"Those two make me sick…" Torafusa mumbled, choosing to work on his swimming stroke in Tartaros's guild pool (which apparently Sabertooth didn't know existed, much like Fairy Tail's pool). "I wouldn't have a problem if they wouldn't act so—affectionate—every time they're around each other."

"If you keep skipping leg day, your legs aren't ever going to strengthen," Keith warned the water demon.

"Easy for you to say…you're a living skeleton. You don't have muscles."

The necromancer ignored him, continuing on his way past the pool and heading out of the room.

"I'll show him…" he decided right then and there. "I'll show him just how strong I can be without leg day!" From that day forward, The Darkness vowed never to attend another leg day in Tartaros again.

WEEK ONE

"Get away from me!" Jackal hissed, trying to do a pull-up with a certain rabbit demon latched around his waist.

"But Jackal-kun! I love being able to feel your muscles moving when you do this! You're so strong!~" Lamy giggled, nuzzling up against the explosive demon's back.

"One of these days, I'm going to destroy you…" he said under his breath.

Torafusa situated himself in the back corner of the specially-designed workout facility, lifting Tempesta up with one hand and Franmalth with the other.

"There are much better ways to strengthen your arms, you know!" Franmalth chattered. "But how much better? How much?"

"Why am I here again?" Tempesta mumbled confusedly.

"Shut up you two! I'm trying to get as much done as I can before—"

The doors to the workout room slammed open, and two feminine figures strode in. "Who's ready for leg day?" Kyouka asked with a huge grin. Sayla on the other hand was casting lustful glances at the demon's lovely limbs. "Come on, Sayla," the demon of pain cooed, tracing down one of Sayla's own legs with her claw. With that, Torafusa quickly dropped both Tempesta and Franmalth and headed out.

"Where are you going?" Tempesta asked, more confused now than before.

"I'm skipping leg day," Torafusa told him as he exited. He scurried through the hall like a little lizard, making his way back to the pool—the place where he felt the strongest. "Maybe I'll just train here from now on…"

WEEK 10

"You're going to turn into a fish at this rate!" Silver laughed, leaning over the edge of the pool at the demon within.

"I'm tons stronger than everyone else!" he snapped adamantly, ducking back under the surface. Silver smirked and froze the water, causing the surface to harden like a lake in the middle of winter. Torafusa didn't hesitate in punching through the thick layer of ice, freeing himself in no time. "See? I don't need my legs for anything!" he said proudly, smashing through the rest of the ice as the Devil Slayer meandered back out of the room.

"Maybe I won't have to worry about destroying him…he seems pretty keen on doing that to himself…skipping leg day and all…"

WEEK 100

It had been almost two years since Torafusa had actually attended leg day. The rest of the demons had to suffer through two years of Kyouka and Sayla's almost endless flirting through the midst of their workout, but nevertheless, they all seemed to have gotten stronger from the experience. "How much have my muscles grown? How much?" Franmalth cackled, poking his still spaghetti-like appendage.

"Everyone has increased their capacity for labor," Keith observed, nodding towards Jackal, Tempesta, and the like. They had all been working hard, preparing their bodies for the massive job they would have to do involving the Face project. "However, we still seem to be missing—" Keith was cut off when the doors slammed open.

"Made it," Torafusa said in a monotone voice, lumbering through the doorway. He barely fit, since his upper body was massive from all the training he did. The troupe of demons was more drawn to his odd legs, though. They were tiny. Maybe even smaller than Lamy's.

"What happened to your legs?" Kyouka asked, wrinkling up her nose at the unsightly water demon.

"I don't need them," he said in response, stomping over towards the others. Just in time, too.

"Hello, my lovely flowers," Mard Geer said with a wave of his hand, the one that wasn't holding E.N.D., of course. "I hope you're all ready to execute project Face, especially since you don't have a choice in the matter," he said, malice laced through his sickly sweet voice. "You all look like you've trained well, although…" he trailed off, glaring towards Torafusa's sorry excuse for legs. "…Some of you trained better than others. Hopefully that won't be your downfall later…" he cackled, spinning on his heels and disappearing in a flurry of rose petals.

"Nice going, sticks-for-legs," Jackal laughed, poking the toothpick-like things sticking out of Torafusa.

"I'll have your head on a platter!" he defended almost immediately, but the second he stepped forward to make a move, he tripped and fell flat on his face.

"Pathetic…" Sayla said under her breath as Kyouka led her back to work on their legs some more. Torafusa proceeded to stumble out of the workout facility and go back to the pool. No one needed legs there anyway.


	9. Why Yes, This Game Does Ruin Friendships

"Outta the way, fairy princess!"

"Rosalina is the keeper of the cosmos. She isn't a fairy-"

"Ha! Got'cha, Sayla!"

"Lamy! You let Torafusa get away!"

"What game are we playing again?"

The Tartaros demons rarely did any activities as a group. Usually, they split off to do Zeref's dirty work, occasionally in pairs. Getting eight of them in a room at once was a miracle in itself. An even greater surprise was that they all agreed on their activity: a Mariokart tournament. It didn't take very long for them all to be arguing and spouting at each other overtop their handhelds' screens. The matches were always heated. Jackal was the first one to start screaming when Lamy tailgated him, or worse, used a bomb and blew up his car. That gave Kyouka the advantage, whose kart maneuvering skills were superior to the rest of the group's. Sayla usually followed closely behind, however, and she pulled ahead when Kyouka wasn't paying attention. Torafusa was silent, but deadly, winning the matches without all the smacktalk that everyone else participated in. Tempesta was usually in dead last, not remembering how to play the game in the first place.

"You guys started the tournament without me?"

"Your pointless bickering is getting us nowhere."

And then there were eight—just enough to fill up a race roster. Ezel was known for selecting the largest character on the roster, then targeting all of the smaller ones, while Keith played it cool and cruised the entire way. He had no interest in the tournaments, after all. He was only there because he had nothing better to do with his time.

"Alright! New game! Winner gets—"

"A promotion!"

"Don't you dare give that little fuzzball a promotion!"

"I'm not! Calm down, idiot!"

"What Kyouka-sama is trying to say is that we're about to start. Please select your karts."

Sayla usually calmed everyone else down, mainly because Kyouka was a bit too hot-headed for her own good and couldn't do much to alter the attitude of the room. The group settled down and waited for the signal to start. When the light that the flying turtle-thing was holding turned green, all eight of them slammed their fingers down on the acceleration button, and the competition started all over again. It didn't matter what race they did—anything from the infamous Rainbow Road to the small circle of Baby Park was fine. The room was so filled with yelling and bickering that it gave the Mard Geer a splitting headache.

"Nothing could be more annoying than those hooligans playing their idiotic racing game…" he sighed, rubbing his fingers against his forehead. "Perhaps I should find some other suitable form of entertainment for them."

So that's what he did. He strode confidently into the room filled with the angry demons, and he almost got hit in the head when Ezel threw his handheld at Torafusa, missing of course. "I brought something new for you to all play together," he said, handing Kyouka a game case. Her eyes practically jumped out of their sockets.

"He brought us the new Smash Bros! With eight player smash!"

"I knew you would be pleased," Mard said just as arrogantly as ever. He thought he was a genius, coming up with the idea to give them some other game to occupy their time. This one was bound to be quieter and less competitive than the other one. Or so he thought.

"Quit playing as Shulk, Fuzzball! He's so annoying!"

"But he's such a hunk! Quit playing as Megaman…he's so boring!"

"My spiked shell will destroy you al—" Ezel was cut off as Torafusa's Greninja used a smash attack, demolishing the Koopa King.

"Try again next time," Sayla said offhandedly, moving her Robin character and shooting Keith with a tome, not that he cared much. Unfortunately, he used Ness's PSI ability to absorb the attack and regain some of his health.

"Watch out for that move, Sayla!" Kyouka coached, moving her equally suited Wii Fit Trainer across the map to aid her. Tempesta made his Kirby fall off the stage again. He forgot the controls again. The bickering continued into the night, keeping the Mard Geer up far past his bedtime.

"That wasn't the smartest decision I've mad…was it?" he asked himself with a sigh, twirling his hair around his finger and clutching the E.N.D. book closer to his chest. "Ah well…soon these buffoons won't matter. They're merely pawns that I will use to destroy Zeref…"


End file.
